Vodafone Business and Energy Web Collaborate to Bring IoT and Blockchain Technologies to Renewable and Distributed Energy Assets
Zug, Switzerland and London, United Kingdom — 26 May 2020 — Energy Web (EW) and Vodafone Business, a global technology communications company and a leader in IoT with over 100 million connections worldwide, today announced a new partnership to help improve the integration of renewable and distributed energy assets within power grids using secure IoT connectivity and blockchain technology.
The partnership will combine SIM-centric blockchain technology (SCB) with IoT connectivity from Vodafone Business to create secure IDs for energy assets. This means that renewable and distributed assets like wind turbines, batteries, heat pumps, and solar panels can be integrated with energy grids safely and efficiently.
Similar to the way telecom operators securely identify mobile phones using SIM cards, the partnership will enable energy grid players to recognize distributed energy assets connected to their power grids. The ability to identify and validate distributed-generation assets in the smart grid is essential to maintain its stability. This is made possible thanks to the integration between the global connectivity provided by Vodafone Business IoT and the Energy Web Decentralized Operating System (EW-DOS).
Vodafone Business is EW’s first strategic partner from the telecom sector and brings the technology capability and global footprint that will help accelerate the delivery of EW’s mission to decarbonize the grid.
Recent research from Gartner estimates utilities are already grappling with more than 1.1 billion IoT endpoints last year, such as smart meters, heat pumps, batteries, and electric vehicles. Vodafone Business has a proven track-record in providing IoT digital solutions to energy providers globally, including smart metering and smart grid solutions. The technology communication company’s expertise is set to become even more important in the years ahead, as power grids around the world increasingly digitalize and decentralize.
“We are seeing the convergence of multiple sectors in making the energy transition happen — the energy sector, of course, but also automotive, telecoms, and even finance. From our perspective, the energy sector can only evolve so fast and so far without taking into account IoT connectivity,” said Walter Kok, CEO of Energy Web. “Bringing together EW’s expertise in energy and decentralization with Vodafone Business’s leadership in IoT creates a really powerful combination.”
“As the number of decentralised, new-generation, low-carbon devices grows, so does the need for them to be securely connected regardless of their location,” said Erik Brenneis, Vodafone Business IoT director. “This connection needs to be simple and secure, ensuring assets are easily able to be connected to, and managed by, energy and communication networks around the globe. At Vodafone Business IoT, we believe that technology and connectivity can be used to help protect the planet and improve people’s lives. We are proud to work together with Energy Web to make this a reality.”
About Vodafone Group
Vodafone Group is one of the world’s leading technology communications providers, connecting people and organisations of all sizes to the digital society. We have extensive experience in connectivity, convergence and the Internet of Things, as well as championing mobile financial services and digital transformation in emerging markets.
Vodafone Group has mobile operations in 22 countries, partners with mobile networks in 42 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. As of 31 March 2020, Vodafone Group had 362 million customers, including 115 million mobile customers, 25 million broadband customers and 22 million TV customers in Europe and 168 million mobile customers in Africa.
For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com
About Energy Web
Energy Web is a global, member-driven nonprofit accelerating a low-carbon, customer-centric electricity system by unleashing the potential of blockchain and decentralized technologies. EW focuses on technology integration and development, co-creating standards and architectures, speeding adoption, and building community.
In mid-2019, EW launched the Energy Web Chain, the world’s first enterprise-grade, open-source blockchain platform tailored to the sector’s regulatory, operational, and market needs. EW also fostered the world’s largest energy blockchain ecosystem, comprising utilities, grid operators, renewable energy developers, corporate energy buyers, and others.
Energy Web has become the industry’s leading energy blockchain partner and most-respected voice of authority on energy blockchain.
For more, please visit https://energyweb.org.
Contacts
Vodafone Business
group.media@vodafone.com
Energy Web
Nicole Arnone, Inflection Point Agency for EWF
+1.770.856.7185 | nicolearnone@inflectionpointagency.com
